Famous quotes

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Success and failure

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“Play with passion and heart. If you don't carry passion into sport—or in any job for that matter—you won't succeed.”
Phil Esposito (born 1942) first seen 2002 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Quoted in Andrew Podnieks, "One on One with Phil Esposito," Legends of Hockey.net (2002-02-18).
“A ghost story of which the scene is laid in the twelfth or thirteenth century may succeed in being romantic or poetical: it will never put the reader into the position of saying to himself: "If I'm not careful, something of this kind may happen to me!”
M. R. James (1862–1936) first seen 1911 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Preface to More Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (1911); cited from Michael Cox (ed.) Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998) pp. 337-8.
“If at first you don't succeed...run.”
Joey Comeau (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Our Shias [i.e., followers] see through the light (nur) of God and move through the mercy of God and succeed through the grace (beneficence, karama) of God.":171”
Musa al-Kadhim (745–799) said by 799 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“To succeed, we have to be the party of change, we have to root out corruption in our own ranks and we have to be the party of solutions.”
Bobby Jindal (born 1971) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Governors Know Best", The Washington Post, November 9, 2008
“The tall fellow Bazille has done something I find quite fine: a young girl [in his painting 'View on the village' ] in a very light dress in the shadow of a tree beyond which one sees a town. There is a good deal of light, sunlight, He is trying to do what we [Berthe and her sister Edma] have so often tried to bring off: to paint a figure in the open air. This time I think he has succeed.”
Berthe Morisot (1841–1895) first seen 1869 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: in a letter to Berthe's sister Edma, after visiting the Salon of Paris in 1869, from: Morisot's Correspondence, p. 32; as quoted in The history of Impressionism by John Rewald, (Fourth edition), Museum of Modern Art, 19…
“The need for abstraction and symbols is a characteristic sign of the intensity and rapidity with which life is lived today. It often happens that a word, [or] a phrase, will serve to synthesize a complete action, an entire psychology. In the same way, one gesture, one essential feature, may, by suddenly throwing light upon our intuition, succeed in presenting to our vision the total reality.”
Gino Severini (1883–1966) first seen 1958 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: introductory essay for the Marlborough Gallery catalogue; reproduced in Archivi del Futurismo, Volume 1, eds. Maria Drudi Gambillo and Teresa Fiori (Rome: De Luca, 1958-68. 2d 1986), pp. 113-115
“Always I will take another step. If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult. I will persist until I succeed.”
Og Mandino (1923–1996) said by 1996 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Those girls who give themselves to the man they love before marriage really succeed in cheating themselves. I know and understand how strong the temptation is, but also I know something else: there is nothing else more beautiful and wonderful than sexual love between marriage partners- when that love is entered into and blessed by God. Why would anyone want to accept anything less?”
Anita Bryant (1940–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I exist. Is this a life still? No, just vegetating. It seems that only one philosophy can succeed the philosophy of existentialism: nonexistentialism, the philosophy of nonexistent existence.”
Imre Kertész (1929–2016) said by 2016 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If when I die, I am still a dictator, I will certainly go down into the oblivion of all dictators. If, on the other hand, I succeed in establishing a truly stable foundation for a democratic government, I will live forever in every home in China.”
Chiang Kai-shek (1887–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I am a product of affirmative action. I am the perfect affirmative action baby. I am Puerto Rican, born and raised in the south Bronx. My test scores were not comparable to my colleagues at Princeton and Yale. Not so far off so that I wasn't able to succeed at those institutions.”
Sonia Sotomayor (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If you really want to contribute to our theoretical understanding of physical laws — and it is an exciting experience if you succeed! — there are many things you need to know. First of all, be serious about it!”
Gerardus 't Hooft (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of course, she did not understand my ultimate plan. If I can succeed eventually in resettling the great majority of Negroes in West Africa— and I propose to do it— I might entertain the proposition of crowning Eleanor queen of Greater Liberia.”
Theodore G. Bilbo (1877–1947) first seen 1944 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In reference to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt’s opposition to his plan to repatriate blacks to West Africa, summer 1944
“You will begin to succeed with your life when the pains and problems of others matter to you.”
T. B. Joshua (1963–2021) first seen 2007 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In an interview with The News Magazine, Nigeria, on his charitable activities - "Why I Cater For The Poor" (December 17 2007)
“If we are generous enough, we can stretch our souls everywhere and everywhen else. If we succeed in doing so, we shall discover that our present embraces the past and the future and that the whole world is our province.”
George Sarton (1884–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We're mortal - which is to say, we're ignorant, stupid, and sinful - but those are only handicaps. Our pride is that nevertheless, now and then, we do our best. A few times we succeed. What more dare we ask for?”
Poul Anderson (1926–2001) said by 2001 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“This White House fetishizes Iraqi national unity. It believes that to succeed, Iraqis should be like Americans, forever imprisoned in an arranged, unhappy political marriage.”
Ilana Mercer first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Das Kurdische Masada,” Junge Freiheit (in German), August 21, 2014.
“I must and will work to ensure that the new democratic South Africa has a fair chance to succeed economically as well as politically, and to try to assist in fulfilling at least a part of the dream of the oppressed and deprived when the new South Africa is born.”
Harry Schwarz (1924–2010) first seen 1991 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speech to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C, April 1991.
“Those who do succeed in reading the Bible from beginning to end will discover that at least it has a beginning and an end, and some traces of a total structure.”
Northrop Frye (1912–1991) said by 1991 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nothing that rests on contradictions shall succeed or last in the long run; all that involves a contradiction is fatally destined, sooner or later, to disintegrate and disappear.”
Afrikan Spir (1837–1890) said by 1890 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Nor did they succeed in hanging me on the gallows, for you rescued me with your blood from the infamous conspiracy case. That day, right here on this racecourse, I had pledged to you that I would pay this debt with my own blood. Do you remember? I am ready today to fulfill that promise!”
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (1920–1975) said by 1975 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If the human race is to reach its peak of development one day, it will be in a natural environment with plant food. As cannibalism and artificial civilization corrupt him and drag him to the abyss of nothingness. Unless a humane race and a non-native whose life is governed by the laws of nature succeed him, otherwise his race will be shamefully extinguished.”
Sadegh Hedayat (1902–1951) said by 1951 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In the end, people have to learn to live together. That is what I didn't like about America — it is so homogeneous. I like places where there are people who are different culturally, physically, in every way. And I like to see how they succeed in living together.”
Terry Gilliam (born 1940) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Ministries without it are usually the ones playing it safe, doing only what is sure to succeed.”
Craig Groeschel (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Stupidity can win for a moment, but it can never really succeed because the nature of humans is to seek freedom. Rulers can delay that freedom, but they cannot stop it.”
Ai Weiwei (born 1957) first seen 2012 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Living in Fear Is Worse Than Imprisonment." Mail and Guardian, June 29, 2012.
“This simple form of repression, of using the method of not letting anyone speak, will never succeed.”
Ai Weiwei (born 1957) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Almost 1,000 new seats to replace the mini building and the rundown trailers will help our students learn in the environment they deserve. It will give them a better opportunity to succeed.”
Jose Peralta (1971–2018) said by 2018 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Wherefore it is impossible to succeed in comparing wealth of different eras or different nations. This, in political economy, like squaring the circle in mathematics, is impracticable, for want of a common mean or measure to go by.”
Jean-Baptiste Say (1767–1832) said by 1832 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“A culture truly changes only when a new way of operating has been shown to succeed over some minimum period of time.”
John Kotter (born 1947) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We feel the necessity of deceiving ourselves, of even grossly deceiving ourselves, and of believing, when we are doing wrong, that we are doing right. When we do not succeed in reaching such persuasion, merely by sounding our own reason and conscience, we look about for something or some person to aid us in the attempt.”
Alexandre Vinet (1797–1847) said by 1847 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“When the memory of one's predecessors is buried, the assumption persists that there were none and each generation of women believes itself to be faced with the burden of doing everything for the first time. And if no one ever did it before, if no woman was ever that socially sacred creature, "a great writer," why do we think we can succeed now? (9. Lack of Models)”
Joanna Russ (1937–2011) said by 2011 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The fastest way to succeed is to look as if you're playing by somebody else's rules, while quietly playing by your own.”
Michael Korda (born 1933) first seen 2003 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: As quoted in Powered by Instinct : 5 Rules for Trusting Your Guts (2003) by Kathy Kolbe, p. 136
“If a rebellion is small and just starting, it looks crazy; but if it begins to succeed, lasts, and builds up momentum, it inevitably legitimizes itself.”
Mark Ames (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Had I known that the Germans would not succeed in producing an atomic bomb, I would not have lifted a finger.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) first seen 1947 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Einstein discussing the letter he sent Roosevelt raising the possibility of atomic weapons. from "Atom: Einstein, the Man Who Started It All," Newsweek Magazine (10 March 1947).
“One strength of the communist system of the East is that it has some of the character of a religion and inspires the emotions of a religion. Unless the concept of peace based on law gathers behind it the force and zeal of a religion, it can hardly hope to succeed.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) first seen 1947 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Ch. 31 "Atomic War or Peace" part II (1947)
“Student: Some people suggest that you are getting mellowed and less militant. Is that so? Truman: Not in the slightest degree. They are trying to make an elder statesmen of me, but they will never succeed.”
Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) first seen 1960 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Mr. Citizen, Harry Truman (1960)
“Send me 300 francs; that sum will enable me to go to Paris. There, at least, one can cut a figure and surmount obstacles. Everything tells me I shall succeed. Will you prevent me from doing so for the want of 100 crowns?”
Napoleon (1769–1821) first seen 1791 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Letter to his uncle, Joseph Fesch (June 1791), as quoted in A Selection from the Letters and Despatches of the First Napoleon. With Explanatory Notes (1884) edited by D. A. Bingham, Vol. I, p. 24
“The man who has the largest capacity for work and thought is the man who is bound to succeed.”
Henry Ford (1863–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Do not try to live for ever. You will not succeed.”
George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950) said by 1950 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Beware of endeavouring to become a great man in a hurry. One such attempt in ten thousand may succeed: these are fearful odds.”
Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) said by 1881 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule — and both commonly succeed, and are right...The United States has never developed an aristocracy really disinterested or an intelligentsia really intelligent. Its history is simply a record of vacillations between two gangs of frauds.”
H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) said by 1956 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“May, in spite of all distractions generated by technology, all of you succeed in turning information into knowledge, knowledge into understanding, and understanding into wisdom.”
Edsger W. Dijkstra (1930–2002) first seen 1998 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Dijkstra (1998)
“There is more to do. We need to prepare our children to read and succeed in school with improved Head Start and early childhood development programs. We must upgrade our teacher colleges and teacher training and launch a major recruiting drive with a great goal for America: a quality teacher in every classroom.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“...I believe that we're going to win; I believe that -- and by the way, if I didn't think that, I wouldn't have our troops there. That's what you got to know. We're going to succeed.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: In response to a question concerning Bush stating two months prior "Absolutely we're winning" in Iraq and then saying in the Washington Post "We're not winning, we're not losing." Press Conference from the White House I…
“I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed. It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You're really making history, and thanks.”
George W. Bush (born 1946) first seen 2008 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Videoconference call with U.S. military and civilian personnel about the challenges of the war in Afghanistan (March 13, 2008)
“To succeed, planning alone is insufficient. One must improvise as well.”
Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) said by 1992 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[T]he question was, whether, if the reformers of society and government could succeed in their objects, and every person in the community were free and in a state of physical comfort, the pleasures of life, being no longer kept up by struggle and privation, would cease to be pleasures.”
John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) said by 1873 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“It has been much debated whether bullies are always cowards; I am content to remark that the admirers of bullies are always, by the very nature of things, trying to be cowards. If they do not always succeed, it is because they have unconscious virtues restraining that obscene worship.”
G. K. Chesterton (1874–1936) said by 1936 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“An army of principles will penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot; it will succeed where diplomatic management would fall: it is neither the Rhine, the Channel, nor the ocean that can arrest its progress: it will march on the horizon of the world, and it will conquer.”
Thomas Paine (1737–1809) said by 1809 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source